1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor-incorporating tire which incorporates sensors in a tire tread portion and to a method of estimating the conditions of a running tire by using this tire.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to improve the running stability of an automobile, it is desired that lateral force generated by a tire and a load or a friction coefficient (road friction coefficient μ) between the tire and the road should be estimated accurately and fed back to car control. It is expected that the advanced control of an ABS brake will be possible and safety will be further improved by these data.
As means of estimating force generated in a tire by using the tire like a sensor, there has been proposed a method of estimating lateral force generated in the tire from the detection output of a magnetic sensor by magnetizing a tire side portion, measuring the degree of twist of the tire side portion with the magnetic sensor installed on an exterior portion of the tire and estimating the longitudinal force of the tire from the estimated degree of twist or by making use of the fact that the whole belt ring is deformed when the tire receives lateral force (refer to patent document 1, for example).
Patent document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,854